Every year in April, students at Renmin University of China have more pleasure than other students in Beijing. Why? Because they get a week off in the middle of the term, the so-called(所谓) spring break.
“It’s been a tradition of our school for years,” said Wang Yueran, 20, a student at Renmin University. He organized a weeklong trip to Sichuan with 12 classmates last year.
Besides having fun during the spring break, field trips, voluntary work, and social projects are all on students’ to-do lists as well. The Chinese proverb says “reading 10,000 books and traveling 10,000 miles”. It means experience is as important as theory. But while Chinese universities have the tradition of spring outings, what’s the aim of making spring break?
Qin Jianguo, from the student affairs office at Shenzhen University, thinks the idea of the spring break in some universities in China comes from the intention(目的) of pushing students out of the ivory tower(象牙塔) to get experience in their life. Many countries have similar vacations in the middle of the semester for students to do things they like. Taking Japan as an example, instead of partying like the US, many Japanese students choose to work as interns(实习生) to have some ideas of their future jobs.
Besides Renmin University, only a few other universities in China, such as Yantai University, have a spring break for their students. Wei Xiang, a professor at Beijing International Studies University, said that the spring break is a good experiment for universities to give students more choices to arrange their own leisure(休闲) and study activities.
Why do students at Renmin University of China have more pleasure than other students in Beijing in April?
 
At least how many things are included on students’ to-do lists ?
 
According to Qin Jianguo, what is the purpose of the spring break in some universities?
 
How do many Japanese students get prepared for their future during the spring break?
 
Do most Chinese universities have spring break now?